Citizenship Now! Volunteers help immigrants apply for citizenship.

On February 24th Met Council worked in collaboration with the CUNY Citizenship and Immigration Project to offer citizenship information and application assistance to immigrants throughout New York City.

Met Council volunteers greatly contributed to the success of this event by assisting with advertising and outreach before the event and by helping clients with paperwork, copying, taking photos, and assisting with administrative tasks throughout Citizenship Day.

Thank you to our wonderful volunteers!

This Year’s Volunteer of the Year: Steven Cohen Next Year’s: ______

A couple of years ago, Steve Cohen happened to attend a meeting at the West End Synagogue and ended up coming up with the name we know and love: "Met Council."

Cohen was very much impressed by the way Ilene Marcus— Met Council’s chief of staff—spoke of her organization and its mission at the meeting. Soon enough, he became a star volunteer.

Using his experience in marketing and advertising, Steve Cohen was able to completely redesign a promotional brochure. In addition, he worked with the staff of the then Metropolitan Council of New York to identify the organization as Met Council—a name more catchy and less of a mouthful.

Recently honored at a Met Council Event, Steve states, "I receive enormous pleasure in assisting people in any small capacity… This work gives me tremendous emotional satisfaction."

Steven Cohen Is definitely a busy guy. Yet, he took some time out of his day to help out. Won’t you? Just like him, you can make a major difference through your skills and talents. Volunteer today and get something immeasurable in return.

Source: (http://www.ujafedny.org/volunteer-spotlight-2/view/spotlight-on-steve-cohen)

All-Stars Take a Stand

Even big, brawny NBA all-stars volunteer. The stars and their families took part in a wonderful week-long NBA Cares All-Stars Community Caravan, participating in various community events throughout the North Texas region. They read stories to children in local elementary schools, hosted fitness clinics for over 1,000 boys and girls in the area and made the wishes of 5 boys and girls from the Make-A-Wish Foundation come true by spending time with them throughout the week of service.

In truth, it's not only their time on the court that makes these all-stars just that--all-stars. These stars are stars on and off-the-court because they find the time and will-power to take action for something they believe in.

See, you don’t have to join the NBA to be a star. Just sign up for one of our volunteer events today and take a stand.

(Source: http://content.usatoday.com/communities/kindness/post/2010/02/nba-all-stars-showed-how-much-they-care/1)

Long-time Volunteer Gets Free Disney Pass

I’ve been volunteering with Met Council since 2006, and appreciate the variety of volunteer opportunities they provide. From building a library for residents at a women’s and children’s shelter in upper Manhattan to passing out food packages to Bukharian Jews in Queens, Met Council’s volunteer programs reflect the diversity of services the organization provides to poor and low-income New Yorkers of all backgrounds.

Most recently, some friends and I visited some of Met Council’s low-income housing sites for seniors in Manhattan and passed out flyers for a survey about on-site programming for the residents. It was really interesting getting to see the housing sites, which were all very well maintained, located in nice neighborhoods, and help longtime New York residents avoid being priced out of their neighborhoods. An added bonus was that this project qualifies my friends and I to each receive a one-day pass at Disney World! We are planning a trip for later this Spring.

National Volunteer Rate Shows Increase

Last year the entertainment industry, big businesses, and the President himself incited American citizens to volunteer their time. So what were the results of all this encouragement?

According to the Department of Labor, only about 1 in 4 individuals volunteered their time last year from September 2008 to September to 2009. In total 63.4 million people participated in some form of community service, an increase of 0.4% from 2008.

Let us know your thoughts: are you surprised by these figures? Did you expect more or less people? Were you the one in four last year that volunteered your time? If the newest statistics make you itch to give back to the community, contact us at volunteer@metcouncil.org.